Most of us have played Monopoly, only to flip the table in a fit of rage because your bleeding money left and right. There is always that one player, who you land on their property – you don’t have the money then you end up making some twisted deal with the devil so that you can get out of paying. But within 3 turns you go bankrupt anyway. I don’t know about you – but I hated board games growing up. They were either way too simplistic, winning completely by chance, or Monopoly. After one particular family game night turned into “The Night of Horror” which ended in everybody expect oldest my sister crying – I swore off board games and stuck to video games.

Fast forward 12 or so years and my oldest sister invites me to a game night with her and her husband and a few of her close friends along with my girlfriend. I was so nervous… I hadn’t played a game since “The Night of Horror”. But the game we played was unlike anything I had ever seen. I’d never seen the game in Walmart, Target, Toys R Us. It was called “Betrayal at House on the Hill”. Great… But as the rules were explained and we started playing… I actually was having fun. It was unlike anything I had ever played before. From that day forward I began to play more board games.

Turns out there is more to life than Monopoly, Life, and Sorry.

Let me break down for you the different type of board games you can play.

Games of Chance
These are, as the title suggests, games they require a HIGH amount of luck for you to win. Games like Sorry, Life, Pirates Cove, Uno, Go Fish, etc. These are great games for gamers and people who just want something casual. These are the games available at most retailers for whatever reason.

Games of CooperationYou won’t find these games in your local store. You’ll need to go to your local hobby store or comic book store – even Barns and Nobles are starting to carry these types of games. Games like Shadows over Camelot, Betrayal at House on the Hill – These are games where you are (mostly) playing against the board game. You are collaborating with your team mates to overcome some great challenge. You all win together or you all lose together

Games of Back StabingThese games are a ton of fun for people who enjoy deception as a gaming element. The most basic form of this would be poker. However the board game forms are the two games mentioned above. Shadows over Camelot for example is a game where all the players are trying to save Camelot together. However there is the possibility of a TRADER among you. This introduces amazing new game play elements are you are now trying to determine if the actions of a player are helping the team or hurting the team. The closer to Victory and Failure progress so closely to one another it is hard to tell until it might be too late IF there is a trader among you – its also possible there isn’t.

Games of Strategy Against other PlayersThe most common example is the classic game RISK. You have an army and your goal is to take over the world. This game is great fun for competitive people. You can have the perfect strategy, overwhelming armies, but if the dice don’t fall in your favor you will be at the mercy of your friends – hence the name “RISK.” Other games are Munchkin, Magic the Gathering, Axis vs Alies, etc.

Games of Strategy NOT against other players.This is an important category. Many people actually enjoy strategy – but don’t like going head to head with several other friends. Ticket to Ride (which is probably my fav game right now – which I have convinced dozens of my friends to also buy) is a great game where you are trying to connect train routes across the U.S. However as the game progresses your route and other players routes might get in the way of one another. There is never any hard feelings though because no one no’s where anyone else is going – so it’s not your fault if you cut someone off. Great game because it never gets old.

So Why Do I NEED to Buy a Board Game? Because not all games are like LIFE or Monopoly. There are TONS of games out there that are a TON of fun. Over the next few weeks I will be reviewing all the board games my wife and I have in the hope that you will decide to buy one of them as well. If you have any games you recommend I buy and review – please leave the name in the comments below!